Questions
by Ghostly Presence
Summary: One shot. Companion piece to 'Who are you, Owen Grady'. It's a hot summer afternoon and the Grady family decide to head down to the pool to freshen up, but not before Mia and Nicholas notice Claire's scars and start asking questions. How will Claire and Owen respond? Find out! (Won't make much sense if you haven't read WAYOG. If you want, go ahead & read).


_Hello my faithful readers! Look at that, I found a minute to write a one shot! I wrote this trying to fill some of the holes left in the epilogue for WAYOG. I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think!_

"How long did they say it would last?" Claire asks fanning her face with a magazine.

"They said somewhere between 4pm and 5pm." I stretch out my hand, grab the towel from my nightstand and wipe the sweat from my forehead. There was a power outage caused by last night's thunderstorm; which turns out to be a pain in all of our asses, since it's the middle of July and it's 32°C out this lovely afternoon.

I was really looking forward to enjoying my Saturday. This whole week has been exhausting for me at work. A private plane with jaguars was intercepted coming from the Brazilian part of the Amazons. They were smuggling them in for some rich asshole who wanted to look 'cool'. _Ass_. _Hole_.

While we contact the Brazilian authorities, the Philadelphia Zoo agreed to take them in while everything gets sorted out, and they can be send back to where they belong. All week I've been making sure they are isolated from any other animal in the zoo. These are wild jaguars in an unknown space to them, I don't even want to know how they would react if put with animals raised in captivity.

This is also a unique opportunity. Getting to observe these glorious animals is a privilege. I had never seen jaguars before. There are 4 of them, 3 females and 1 male. While we were trying to sedate them, one of the females almost ripped my arm off. They are incredibly fast and their bite is not something I want to experience. Jaguars have the strongest jaws of any cat in the world.

When Friday afternoon came, I went home ready to pass out, not even the thundering storm stopped me from doing it. I woke up this morning with my shirt clinging to my body. It was disgustingly hot. I turned on my side to look at Claire, but she wasn't there. It took me a few more seconds to notice the sound of running water coming from the bathroom. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and walked to the bathroom.

I prepared myself for the inevitable hit of steam on my body, but when I opened the door, I felt nothing other than slight confusion. Claire never showers with cold water. "Hey." I said. My voice was still hoarse from sleep.

"Good morning. I was wondering how long you would sleep before the scorching heat would wake you up." Claire said washing the shampoo off of her hair.

I scratched my head. "Oh, I thought it was just me. Must be the AC. I'll check it out." I turned around, still in zombie mode. It was too early to be awake on a Saturday morning.

"Owen."

I stopped right at the door. "Yeah?"

"Power's out. Have you not realized I'm showering in the dark?" Claire said.

I looked around the bathroom and realized she was right. I walked the few steps to the switch and turned it on and off. No power. "Last night's storm must've really hit hard then." I said turning to look at Claire.

"Yes, it would appear so. We should call the electric company and ask how long this is going to last. It's way too hot and it's not even 9am." She said rubbing some soap on her arms.

I started to wake up then. The way the water was hitting her body, the way she leant her head back under the stream of water… _Oh, I'm awake now_ , I thought.

"Why don't you stop looking at me like that and get in before the twins wake up?" She said not even bothering to open her eyes to look at me. Claire Dearing hasn't lost her power over me, and if anything, her power has grown stronger. I smirked and started discarding the pieces of clothing. I stepped in and looked at her body. "Ladies and gentleman, the mother of twins."

That was 4 hours ago. As soon as we stepped off the shower, I called the electric company and they told me a thunder had hit the main generator and that they were trying to fix the problem as efficiently as possible. Meanwhile, we sweat.

Before Claire went to shower, she told me she had gone to the twins' room to see if they were still asleep, and they were, but she had to take their shirts off because they were soaked. They woke up not too long after and we gave them a bath before having breakfast.

Now the twins are lying in bed with us since our bedroom has the biggest window and therefore, the most airflow. "Mummy, it's hot." Nicholas says.

"I know, sweetheart. The people at the electric company are working really hard to fix the problem. We just have to be patient. Okay?"

"Okay." He says a bit grouchy. Can't blame him. I'm starting to feel grouchy too.

Mia and Nicholas are 3 years old. They are beautiful and so, so smart. Which has come and bite us in the ass a couple of times. They are fire. They really are. We are not looking forward to the time they become teenagers because they are definitely going to give us a run for our money.

"I'm thirsty." Mia says to no one in particular.

"Let's go drink some water then." I tell her standing up from the bed.

"No. Juice." She says standing up on the bed and stretching her arms out to me.

I pick her up and put her on the floor.

"Okay. Juice it is. You guys want anything?" I ask Claire and Nicholas. Claire shakes her head. "No, thanks. I'm good. You, Nick?"

He thinks for a minute. "I want cookies." I smile. He's inherited my appetite. Claire looks at me and shakes her head thinking the same thing I am.

"Let's hold off the cookies for now. What did we say?" Claire says looking at Nicholas. He sighs (just like Claire). "Not everyday and only after lunch."

"Oh, so you _do_ remember? Are you trying to trick me?!" She asks him in mock horror. He smiles and throws himself on top of Claire in a fit of giggles.

"Daddy. Juice." Mia tells me one more time, not even acknowledging Nicholas. "Yeah. Sorry, monkey. Come on, let's go drink some juice." I take her hand and walk to the kitchen. "I'm not going to give you too much, okay? Just enough so you're not thirsty anymore." I tell her opening the fridge and pulling out a bottle of cranberry juice.

I notice it's not very cold. We'll probably have to throw all the food out. We can't risk getting food poisoning. We still have at least 5 hours before the power is back. What a waste.

"Why not? I like juice." She tells me looking up at me with curiosity. I remove the lid from her sippy cup and pour some juice in. "I know you do, but lunch is just a couple of hours away and I don't want you to fill up. Plus, I was thinking maybe we could go down to the pool and freshen up. What do you think?"

Her face lights up. "Yes! Let's go to the pool!" I screw the lid back on and hand her the sippy cup. "Let's go ask mum and Nick if they want to go too."

"Okay!" She runs back to the bedroom and I follow her. "Mummy, daddy wants to know if you and Nick want to go to the pool!" Mia asks Claire jumping up and down excitedly.

Claire smiles and looks up at me. "That's a very good idea. It's getting pretty unbearable in here."

"Can I take my soccer ball?" Nicholas asks Claire.

"Yes, you _may_." She says emphasizing the 'may'. "Come on, let's get you guys changed."

We walk to the twins' room and take a step back the moment we go in. It's so hot in here. It feels like a sauna! "Okay, back to daddy and I's room. We'll help you two change in there." Claire says herding Mia and Nicholas back to our room.

I go into their bedroom and feel like I just walked into the 7th circle of hell. The window of their room is wide open, but no air seems to be getting in. I open their drawer, pull out their bathing suits and get the hell out of there!

I see Claire lifting Mia and then Nicholas onto our bed. "Arms up." She tells them and they do so obediently. Things haven't changed in that regard. If they're having fun, they obey. If they're not particularly interested, it takes us asking them more than once and the occasional raising of the voice before they obey. "Here" I pass Claire Mia's bathing suit and we each change a twin.

It is quite impressive how time has passed by. Each day we learn something new about Mia and Nicholas. They just started their dance lessons, and you can already tell how passionate they are, and how determined.

Claire was right about Mia. She is exactly like her. Even at 3 years old, you can tell in the way she puckers her lips a little when she's trying to negotiate her way into staying awake for longer, or when she doesn't let something go until she gets it perfectly. Like I said a while back, mini Claire.

And Nicholas, oh my Nick. He is like me when it comes to appetite, positivity and humour. That boy could eat a whole turkey for Thanksgiving and still have room for dessert. He laughs at the poop jokes I make while Mia and Claire shake their heads in mild disgust. But he's also like Claire. Stubborn to no end, and just like Mia, quite the negotiator.

"All done." I say tightening the strap of Nicholas' swim shorts.

"And we…" Claire helps Mia put her arm through the last strap. "… are done too."

"Great! Now behave while mum and I change, okay? Do you think you can manage that?" I ask both Nicholas and Mia.

They look at each other and smile, (never a good sign) and then nod. I turn to look at Claire and she's shaking her head at them, a smile on her face. "Listen to your father. Or you will have to listen to _me_." She raises an eyebrow and gives them a pointed look.

The mischievous smiles drop from their faces and they nod once again. See? They are smart. They know when Claire is playing with them, and they also know when their mere existence is in danger. _Smart_.

"Okay." I pick both of them up and place them on the floor. "Wait for us in the living room." They run out of the room in a fit of giggles.

I turn to Claire. "I guess we should change as fast as we can before they somehow manage to burn the apartment down."

Claire laughs. "I agree."

We walk into our walking closet and we each open our respective drawers. I change in 2 minutes. Claire is still trying to figure out which bikini to wear. Typical Claire. I walk out into the bedroom and start looking for my sunglasses. I open drawers, look inside my laptop case, I even look under the bed for good measure. Nothing.

"Are you looking for this?" Claire says dangling my sunglasses at me.

I exhale in relief, (corneas saved). "Yeah. Where were they?" I ask her taking the sunglasses from her. She looks at me for a second before answering. "In their place."

I tap my forehead. "Of course. How stupid of me."

"Yes." She smiles. "Help me with the knot?"

"Of course." I take the sunglasses and put them on my head. I take the straps of her orange bikini and start tying the knot. We hear the quick little steps of Mia and Nicholas before they burst into our room.

"Mummy, can we take our to-" Mia stops abruptly and gasps. We both look at her. Her eyes are wide and she's looking at… what?

"Monkey, are you okay?" I ask her finishing tying Claire's knot. Nicholas is standing next to her, looking in the same direction Mia is.

Mia lifts her finger and points towards Claire. "Mummy…"

"You got hurt." Nicholas finishes for her in a whisper. I follow Mia's finger to Claire's scar. Her almost 4 inch scar from where the doctor cut her to fix her collapsed lung.

Damn.

I see Claire's hand instinctively reach up and touch her scar. "You got hurt." Mia says after a few seconds.

Claire and I look at each other and I nod, letting her know it's up to her to decide how to tell them and how much. "Yeah, I got hurt. But that was a long time ago."

Mia starts taking tentative steps towards Claire until her little finger is tracing the scar very gently. "What happened?" She asks looking up at Claire. Curiosity picked, as always.

That seems to be Nicholas' cue to walk up to Claire and look intently at the scar. He doesn't seem to find the courage to touch it like Mia did. Claire is looking down at the both of them and I can tell she's trying to decide which route to take. Tell them the truth and the gravity of what happened, keeping out the gory details? Or tell them some half-truth and play it as if it was just a scratch that needed a trip to the doctor's?

I know the answer before I even finish thinking about it. Claire is not one to play things lightly and lying to our children, even for the silliest of things, is not something we have done. Ever. And not something we are planning to do.

"I was in a car accident almost 5 years ago." Claire tells them.

The severity of what Claire just said is clearly seen in their faces. We always put the news on while we're having breakfast, and even though both of them are more focused on their food than anything else, there has been the occasional time when they've heard something they didn't understand and they would ask us. We've explained to them what a car crush is and the things that might transpire when one does happen.

Their eyes are wide and they are looking at Claire as if she wasn't real. Fires, car crushes, robberies, all of those are not part of their reality. Not really. They see all those things in the news, almost like a movie. I don't think they truly believed it was real, even after we explained it to them. But seeing the scar and hearing what Claire is telling them, it suddenly _is_ real. And it frightens them.

"Car accident?" Nicholas asks. "Like the ones on the TV?"

Claire nods slowly. "Yes, like the ones on TV." We are both looking at them, waiting for the moment the avalanche of questions will start.

"You said car accidents send people to heaven." Mia says looking at me.

"I said sometimes. Sometimes people get hurt so badly they go to heaven. And sometimes people get hurt and they go to the hospital and get better. Like mum. She's here, isn't she?" I ask the both of them.

Their eyes move to Claire once more. And they nod. "You were in the hospital." Mia says, now understanding a little more how the process works. You are in a car crush and then you go to the hospital.

"I was. I stayed for about 10 days. The doctors fixed what was broken and then I spent the rest of the time healing at nonno and nonna's house." Claire tells them with an even voice. It's been a while since the accident, but it still twists my insides every time I remember what happened that day. I know Claire feels the same way.

"What got broken?" Nicholas asks and this time he reaches his fingers and touches Claire's scar.

Claire exhales and moves to sit on our bed. "Come here." She says motioning for Nicholas and Mia to sit next to her. Claire helps Nicholas and Mia sit on the bed and I sit on the floor facing them.

"I broke some bones and…" She stops herself and gives me a fleeting look. "… hurt some other things."

It's probably for the best not to tell them yet about Claire's lung injury. They are bound to ask more questions, and explaining that to the both of them would require more detail than it's probably necessary. They're 3 years old, they won't understand and we'll just probably scare them more.

I turn my attention to Nicholas and Mia. They are both thinking about what she's saying. I can almost see the wheels turning in their heads.

"There was a boy in our dance class that broke his arm. He didn't stay in the hospital." Nicholas says confused.

"Well, I broke more than just my arm. I also broke a couple of ribs; right where the scar is."

"Oh." Nicholas says. A distant look settles on his face. Almost like his reanalyzing his knowledge on broken bones.

"Were you in pain?" Mia asks. The look on her face is one that almost makes me want to cover her eyes and put her in a bubble so she never has to know what her mother went through.

Claire screws up her face a bit, almost unperceivable. That's definitely a question I know she doesn't want to answer. We both feel this urge to protect the both of them, to worry about them. But hearing Mia ask Claire if she was in pain, seeing the _worry_ on her face and Nicholas' – it's not something I ever want to see on their faces, hear on their voices again.

So when Claire says 'yes', I know it hurts her more than the actual accident. I see Mia and Nicholas' face show something that I've never seen before… utter sadness. "That's…" Nicholas never seems to find the word he was looking for. So instead, he throws his arms around Claire and hugs her as if trying to erase any pain she ever felt. Mia does the same.

Claire wraps her arms around the both of them and closes her eyes. They stay like that for a little bit and I watch them, wondering how am I going to protect them from everything bad in the world. And the answer is, I can't. But I sure as hell can try.

Mia lets go of Claire and looks up at her. "You're okay now, right?"

Claire smiles down at her. "I'm okay. Daddy took really good care of me. My body healed very well."

Mia turns to look at me. "That was really nice of you, daddy."

I smile at that and Claire does too. "I know, right?! Turns out, I could've been a great doctor." I say trying to lighten the mood.

"Why didn't you?" Nicholas asks.

I shrug. "Turns out I can't belly rub my patients like I do my animals. That did it."

They laugh. I stand up and clap my hands. "Raise to the pool?"

"Yeah!" Mia and Nicholas jump off the bed and start jumping up and down in their place.

"Go grab your things and wait for us at the door. Go!" They run so fast out of the room, they could give Flash a run for his money.

I turn to Claire and she stands up from the bed. I walk the few steps to her and wrap my arms around her. "You okay?"

I feel her nod against my chest. "That was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"I know. But you did great." I say tightening my hug.

We stand there for a moment. "What are we going to tell them when they ask about the burn? At some point they're going to find out that I flat lined, Owen. How do you tell them their mother almost died? How do you tell them without scaring them?"

I shake my head. "I don't know." I let go of her and hold her by the shoulders. "What I do know is that they are going to know their mother is a fighter and a survivor. We will tell them in a way that makes them stronger. We'll figure it out. I promise."

She nods. "I know we will. We always do. Right?"

"You're damn right, high-heeled badass." I tell her using the nickname the people gave her after dinogate.

She rolls her eyes in mild annoyance. "Thanks for reminding me of that horrible nickname."

I shake my head. "Not horrible. _Badass_."

She barks out a laugh. "Whatever. Let's go before our children get impatient and come running back in."

"Okay, let's go. But first…" I pull her in for a kiss and relish in the fact that I will never get tired of kissing her. "Now we can go."

"Can't resist yourself, can you?" Claire asks walking out of the room.

"Not when it comes to you, no." I follow her and the four of us go down to the pool.

 _I hope you enjoyed this little one shot. I know it's been a while, but trust me when I tell you, I'm bursting with ideas! I just need to find the right moment to sit down, make sure there's some order in my weird mind and write them down. Stay alert, you never know what might pop up! (Give me some time though. Yes?) Hopefully, you'll be hearing from me soon!_

 _To anyone directly or indirectly affected by the horrible events of this past weekend in Orlando, stay strong. We're all thinking of you. You are_ _ **not**_ _alone. Hate will_ _ **never**_ _win. Remember that through these tough times. Peace._


End file.
